Tag: Software Testing

Selenium WebDriver makes direct calls to the browser using each browser’s native support for automation. It support multiple browsers, operating systems and programming languages. What’s more? It’s FREE, ‘Open Source’ as we call it! Why do you think it’s so popular? 😉 Though Selenium Webdriver is at the epicenter of automated software testing, it is supported by different tools to make Automation Testing easy, effective & efficient – The Automation Galaxy of Selenium Webdriver tools!

Unless you took a refugee or voluntary retirement or moved to Himalayas, you must be aware of the ‘Virtualization’ and ‘Cloud Computing’ concept. Cloud computing has passed through the stage of hype to become a reality of modern enterprise infrastructure. Every other Tech giant has its cloud offerings, be it Amazon, Google, HPE, IBM, Microsoft or Salesforce. And how did it impact the Testing landscape? Yeah! Every big innovation in the technology space has its parallel influence on the Test processes & techniques. In no time testing evangelists started exploring the Clouds and came up with new Test approaches suited for the Cloud. Cloud Testing started trending in the town and I too jumped into this bandwagon. Yes, recently I have been working on a Salesforce Marketing Cloud project and OMG! Cloud Testing is so different..!

The concept has been around from a long time. The most famous example of Crowd Sourcing is “Wikipedia”. Wikipedia, the most comprehensive encyclopedia is the result of the information created by writers and editors from the crowd. The various Bug Bounty programs run by Tech giants is a wonderful practical application of crowdsourced testing which reward researchers and software hobbyists for finding software bugs. Beta testing (many apps have beta versions available in play store / app store including WhatsApp Beta program) is also a form of crowdsourced testing where a set of end-users can access the application & provide their feedback.

Today most of the organizations are moving or have already moved to agile development and testing. Or at least they think so. Sprints and daily stand-ups are common. Everybody is talking about Scrum & minimum viable product. We are tracking the team velocity & burndown. We have cut down on the documentation & invested in working software. Everyone is focused on customer satisfaction by accepting change. But wait a minute! This is too-happy a picture to be true.

Software Testing is a process of verifying and validating an application against the specified requirements, mostly functional requirements. The non-functional aspects of an application such as performance are considered only after functional. Testing a software for both functionality and performance becomes a value addition to its quality before its launch into the market.

Father’s day, a customary day for the celebration of fatherhood. Ever wondered who started the Software Testing practice? Or who is the pioneer of Software Quality? Who invented the Internet and the World Wide Web? Who wrote the first ever program? Who built the computer? Leave it all, who is the father of computing? On this Father’s day, let’s know about and thank the fathers of technologies shaping our present and the future!

There is no such statement as ‘I am now prepared for the interview‘. When facing a Testing interview no matter how many interview questions and answers you have gone through – there is always more to read Continuing on our Interview questions series, let’s see some more interesting FAQs related to Domain, Software requirements, Agile Kanban, Career in Testing, SMAC Testing, Automation and Selenium Webdriver.

Recently a lot has been written & talked about the future of Manual Testing. Manual Testing is indispensable part of ensuring a high quality software. On the other hand, Automation Tests help you cut down the release cycle time. But usability & human behavior cannot be automated. With reduced time-to-market there is an added pressure on enterprises to seek automation alternatives. With the rise & growth of new technologies, people are more interested in scripting. But Manual Testing is the input to Automation scripts. Unless AI technology matches a human brain, Manual tests are best kept ‘manual’. You cannot automate everything. Cut the crap! Whatever be the debate but still Manual testers are finding it hard to stay relevant in today’s job market. Why?

Most of the QA professionals are among the smartest people on this earth who often boast advanced degrees in engineering, mathematics or computer science. In some ways, we are like Superheroes – capable of breaking down a whole application and defeating an army of programmers with our defects, testing complex functions, juggling numerous technologies, ensuring customer ideas morphed into working software, all the while not breaking a sweat. So how is it that despite such technical savvy, programming prowess and quality driven attitude, we are defeated at test estimation front?

I have a strong functional test experience but no automation. I ‘know’ automation testing but don’t have the project experience. I am a Test lead but didn’t write any automation scripts. Analytical & logical but never did project coding. Found in-numerous bugs but didn’t prepare automation reports. Managed a big team but didn’t learn performance testing. Documented every report but didn’t produce framework guides. Enjoyed exploratory tests but didn’t script pre-defined test cases. Helped BAs and even developers (in debugging) but never developed automation framework. Understood domain & application flows but didn’t write code. Open to learning but no opportunity. Self-learned programming & tools, but didn’t get practical project experience. Passionate about Software testing but now it’s Software Developer in Test.

The goal of every IT organization is to deliver a quality software to their clientele, and to complement their goal they give the highest priority to Software Testing. Automation testing acts as an accelerator to their time to market by saving time and effort, and manual testing will remain as the core for quality software delivery. In today’s changing technology landscape, Manual testers are being pushed to learn automation skills. But how? How to empower Manual Testers to do Automation Testing?

Though the aspiration for being a successful IT professional is strong, we assume that the word ‘IT professional’ is synonymous with ‘Developer’. When a testing opportunity presents itself, there are many doubts in our minds and we often wonder if it’s the right career move or not. While being a developer is great and has immense potential, it should not be concluded that being a tester means the exact opposite. Let’s explore the reasons behind the perception – Software Testing is inferior to Development,

In an agile business, automation is becoming an essential process. Companies are now taking advantage of automation testing tools to increase their efficiency and productivity. Automation is frequently evangelized as the cure-all of software quality woes. Some of the benefits that accrue from automated tests include test reusability, repeatability and coverage besides the savings on effort, time and cost it takes for execution (compared to manual testing). However it’s NOT the answer for everything. Test automation, while being able to improve numerous aspects of software development, has limitations that developers and quality assurance teams should be aware of from the start. Understanding these limitations of automation testing will help us devise an efficient & effective automation strategy.

Quality – Why is this word so important for your software? Software teams today involve a number of people: developers, testers, support engineers, designers, product managers, and executive stake holders. A low quality software impacts all of these or in other words everyone in the team is responsible for the quality of software delivered. When we look into the overall effectiveness or cost manual testing still have a pivotal role to play. Unfortunately, very little discussion is only happening on how to improve efficiency of manual testing instead most of discussions are happening on how to increase the level of automation. Many of us would advocate the fact that Manual Testing is no longer needed, and I know it well why they think so. It is mostly because of the drawbacks and challenges associated with Manual Testing.

About STS

Software Testing Studio is an attempt to share some incredible knowledge from industry leaders & experts, which should be helpful for anybody to start his/her career in ‘Software Testing’ or to progress it further. Apart from the technical nitty-gritties, one can also find some intellectual posts by industry experts sharing their Wisdom.